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Thursday, April 12, 2018

Ikh bin arayngegangen un zikh oysgedreyt un aroysgegangen tsurik (I went in, turned around and went back out again) Yiddish theater song by Isidore Lillian

Sung by Julius Nathanson (Natansohn), this song was from a show by B. Kovner [pseudonym of the humorist Jacob Adler] called "Yente telebende."

The fictional henpecking Yente was married to Mendel Telebende. The Forward writes:
Yente Telebende, known for her loud mouth and meddling ways, even spawned the creation of a new term in the vernacular: a “yente,” meaning a gossip.
... or, as the New York Times described her in Adler's obituary when he died at 101 in 1975, a "loquacious battle‐ax."

The song, written by Isidore Lilian and Joseph Rumshisky (Rumshinsky), was published in 1916 as the B side to a shockingly racist song by Louis Gilrod with the appealing title "Washington, Lincoln und Moishe Rabeiny."

It was in my folder of "songs to record some day" and yesterday was the day. I was experimenting with my Logitech webcam.


I love the Yinglish in this song. "Ikh hob mayn mind gechanged." Sweet.

Here's a cool poster of "Julius Nathanson, Yiddish American comedian, and Anna Nathanson, the personality girl of the Yiddish stage." An obit read: Julius Nathanson, for nearly half a century known on the Yiddish stage as both a character actor and comedian, died at his home at Reseta, Calif., at the age of 66. A native of Kiev, Mr. Nathanson played with Jewish troupes all over this country, Europe and South America."


Words and translation after the jump. I omitted two (to me) offensive verses.



Ch'bin arayngegangen un zikh oysgedreyt un aroys gegangen tsurik

Genumen a 'walk' hob ikh a mol mit finf gite frant
Farbaygegangen zaynen mir a groysn restorant.
Un eyner makht a forshlag az a 'treat' tsoln zol ikh
Un vi ikh gey arayn, derze ikh, ikh hob keyn gelt bay zikh!

ch'bin arayngegangen un zikh oysgedreyt un aroys gegangen tsurik
Ikh hob my 'mind' gechanged in dem zelbn oygnblik.
kh'hob vi fun shlof zikh oyfgekhapt, di fis af di pleytses aroyfgebrakht
kh'bin arayn gegangen un zikh oysgedreyt un aroys gegangen tsurik!

Der shadkhn khapt mikh on un shrayt: tu on dem nayem sut,
Ikh hob far dir a kale, iz zi sheyn, a regle byoot.
Er git mir ir adres. Haklal, Ikh kum ahin tsu gehn,
Ikh klap in tir, zi shrayt: kom in, un vi ikh hob zi derzen:

Ven Minnie shikt mir zukhn arbet, geyt zi mit mir mit,
Vayl zi veyst az Ikh aleyn gevin keyn arbet nit.
Mir geyen farbay in Vest Brodvey, derzen hot zi a 'sign':
"Farlangt a shtarkn man" zogt zi tsu mir, nu, gey arayn.

Geven bin ikh gebrokhn, krig ikh plutsling a gedank
A ganef vel ikh vern, kh'vel ba'ganvenen a bank.
In mitn heln tog zol dos geshen, kler ikh bay mir
Mit a 'pistel' loyf ikh in der bank, shteyt a politsman bay der tir.

A groys fayer brekht oys eyn mol in a tenement
Un fun di flamen shrayt a froy: gevald, ikh ver farbrent!
Di gas iz ful mit mener, ober keyner rirt zikh tsu.
Ikh shtel mayn lebn ayn, shray ikh, un retn vel ikh du!

Here's the translation of the three verses I sang:

I took a walk once with five good friends
We passed by a big restaurant.
One of them proposed I should pay for a treat
When I went in I saw I had no money with me.

I went in, I turned around and went back out!
I changed my mind in that very blink of an eye!
As if awaking from sleep, I took to my heels.
I went in, I turned around and went back out

When Minnie sent me to find work, she went with me,
Because she knows I can't land a job on my own.
Passing by on West Broadway we saw a sign:
"A strong man needed!" Minnie says: "Well? Go in!"

I was broke! I suddenly had a thought:
"I'll become a thief, I'll rob a bank."
I decide to do it in the middle of the day.
I run into the bank with a pistol. A policeman's standing by the door.







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